Working model

Working model of memory = Baddeley and Hitch

STM

Dual task test = Can participants participants perform a digit span test and a verbal reasoning test at the same time

Central executive = collects responses from senses

- Limited capacity

- Modality free

- Directs info to correct slave system

- Works like a filter

Findings = made very few errors, proves that STM can hold several pieces of info and it must have more than one component

Evidence 1 = Baddeley

- Participants struggled to generate lists of random numbers whilst being required to alternate between pressing numbers and letters on a keyboard because the tasks were both competing for central executive which suggests it has limited capacity

Explanation for central executive is limited so if two tasks cannot be performed together we can say they exceed the capacity

Phonological loop = Consists of two subunits

Phonological store = words that were recently

Articulatory control system = keeps info in phonological loop through subvocal repetition

Explains why similar sounding such as cat, fat, rat get confused

Explains the capacity limit is linked by amount of time needed for mental articulation = we can remember shorter words better

Baddeley

Word length effect

The longer we take to say something the less likely we are to remember it , his participants remembered shorter words better

Visuo-spatial sketchpad = deals with visual info and spatial awareness

- Limited capacity

- inner scribe

Shepard and Feng =

- Asked participants to imagine folding net boxes to see if the arrows would meet, it took them the same amount of time as if they were actually folding the boxes

Brain scans =

Left hemisphere is most active during visual tasks and the right when dealing with spatial info

Episodic buffer =

A slave system that temporarily stores info from the LTM and central executive

Evidence = Alkahifa

Looked at patients with severely impaired LTM, they had a STM capacity of 25 items which exceeds the capacity of phonological loop and VSSP, which suggest existence of another store = episodic buffer

Further evidence = Baddeley

Was driving and listening to American football = both VSSP but when he changed to music station = PL he could drive in a straight line

Further evidence = Shalice and Warrington

Looked at patient KF who has brain damage, could process visual but not verbal so